How to organise a work Christmas party people actually come to

The short answer

Pick the date by early November, before venues and your team’s calendars fill. Hold it in the first two or three weeks of December, well clear of the 25th and 26th. Put it on one page with a free RSVP for staff (and a paid ticket for partners if they’re paying their own way), ask dietary needs and anything else the venue wants at the same time, and close RSVPs on the date the venue needs final numbers. One link, one list, no reply-all chains.

Why the RSVP matters more than the venue

Most work Christmas parties go wrong in the admin, not on the night. The caterer needs final numbers, the venue needs dietary needs a week out, someone always replies to the wrong email, and on the night nobody’s sure who said yes. A proper RSVP gives you:

• a firm number for the venue, by the date they need it
• dietary needs and allergies in one list, not twenty emails
• who’s bringing a partner, so the headcount is right
• reminders that go out without you chasing anyone
• a check-in list at the door, if the venue charges per head

When to hold it in an Australian December

December is short. Plenty of people take leave from mid-month, school finishes, and the 25th, 26th and 1 January are public holidays, with venues and staff stretched around them. A few rules of thumb:

• First or second Friday of December is the classic slot, so it books out first. Book the venue in October or early November.
• A Thursday is often easier to get and cheaper, and people still turn up.
• A long lunch suits teams with kids at home or a long commute, and dodges late finishes.
• Late November is fair game for a big team: you get the pick of venues and nobody is away yet.
• January (an “after the rush” party) is a real option for hospitality, retail and anyone flat out in December.

It’s summer, so plan for heat: shade or air conditioning, water on every table, and a wet-weather plan if anything is outside. In the north it may be the start of the wet season, so a storm plan too.

Who pays?

There are three common set-ups, and the RSVP should match:

1. The business pays for everyone. A free RSVP for staff, with the venue’s cap as the capacity.
2. Staff are free, partners pay. A free staff ticket and a paid partner ticket, each with its own cap.
3. Everyone chips in (common for small teams and social clubs). A paid ticket at cost, maybe with a cheaper early price.

Whatever you choose, say it on the page: “Staff are free; partners are $65 and include food and drinks till 10.” People hate guessing.

Ideas that work for small and mid-sized teams

• Long lunch at a restaurant with a set menu: easy, and over by four.
• Bowls, a cooking class or a paint and sip: something to do takes the pressure off small talk. See the templates for set-ups you can copy.
• Trivia night with mixed teams, so departments meet each other.
• A sundowner on a deck or rooftop, if you can get shade.
• A family day with a barbecue and a visit from Santa, for teams with young kids.
• Awards or a year in review for ten minutes, not forty.

Whatever you do, have food and non-alcoholic drinks that are as good as the alcoholic ones, and tell people how they’re getting home.

What to ask in the RSVP

Keep it short. Most parties need:

• Dietary needs or allergies (required, with “None” as a fine answer)
• Bringing a partner? if partners come on the staff ticket rather than their own
• Team or department, if you’re seating people or running mixed trivia teams

Ask anything else the venue needs for its run sheet, and nothing it doesn’t. See How to collect dietary requirements for an event.

Keeping it private

A staff party is not a public event. Keep its page off the internet’s radar: an unlisted link only staff receive, or a private page with a password you put in the invite. Don’t put the venue in a public post if you’d rather nobody gatecrashed.

On One Ticket

Start from the Work Christmas party template: it sets up a free staff RSVP, a paid partner ticket, the dietary question and the waitlist, and its button already says “RSVP for the party”. Add your date and venue; change the words in Button label if you’d rather.

Under Who can see it, choose Unlisted (anyone with the link) or Private with a password for guests. Each ticket type has its own Capacity, so staff places and partner places add up to the venue’s number. Add question asks each person a question at checkout, required or not, as a typed answer or Pick from a list. Free tickets cost nothing, and Stripe doesn’t need to be connected for a free event. For a paid partner ticket, the buyer pays a small booking fee and you receive your full price; on any plan you can absorb the fee instead.

To close RSVPs on the venue’s deadline, set Sales end on each ticket type. Everyone booked gets a reminder the day before and the morning of, with their ticket. The Orders export has the dietary answers; Attendees gives you the headcount. See Export. On the night, check people in from any phone, or hand the door to someone with a door link.

Planning it with a colleague? On Pro your organiser has room for 3 people (you and 2 more, invited as members), and Team has room for 10, with roles. See Team members. Selling a table to another company instead? See How to sell a table of eight to a company.

Related: How to sell tickets to a Christmas party and How to take free registrations for an event.